Ralphie´s Portal

"The Hillbillycrone" in front of Rev. Laurie Cabots Witch Shoppe

Most of my life I have considered myself to be a modern-day solitary witch. Sometimes, I go out on a limb and call myself “Wiccan” however, that is subject to debate. “Organized Religion” of any kind, even my kind, sours on my stomach rather quickly.  Mostly because the instant you get a bunch of humans involved, well, you know what happens, corruption, power struggles, volatile debate, affairs, bake sales, holy wars,  fashion parades and some poor soul (always someone my age) has to get stuck with “nursery duty” arghhhhh. I would be sad to think of my sacred spirituality attached to these conditions of service. Me, I mostly stir around here on the mountain, it’s better this way. “The Hillbillycrone” (me) stays busy with all manner of things, seven days a week.

I have always known that I was different, I was born confident and unafraid. I was liberated and unashamed about it long before I could put a title on what it was that made me “different”  In the early seventies, when I began hearing of this famous Mega-Witch by the name of Laurie Cabot, my ears perked up. Of course, she lived and ran her witch shoppe in the town of Salem Massachusetts, where else?  In fact, she still does, I have been there!  

 To my knowledge, this quaint, little feminine shoppe, filled with herbs, delicate crystals, incense, and other sumptuously witchy items was the very first witch shoppe in this country, this is impressive to me.   The shoppe is no longer at its original location, but, it’s very interesting, sitting there on the wharf with a name like “The Official Witch Shoppe”

 There is something magical about the little town and the cool blue waterfront, even the people in Salem were enchanting for me. There were witches in capes and robes everywhere, all ages, many were my age….all were rosy-cheeked and scurrying in and out of the shoppes. I think I smiled the whole forty-eight hours that I was there.  My wardrobe was in style, I did not have to buy a thing for the trip. I had several black capes and black velvet dresses, I had witchy boots and feather earrings, a couple of sizes of cone hats to choose from….and of course, my beloved, bejeweled pentagram, which was swinging in the wind as I ran up and down the streets of Salem!  I am surprised that I did not take flight!  

 Laurie Cabot is religious, so much so, that she wears her black ritual robes every day of the year.  I think she is now referred to as Reverend Laurie Cabot.  She made the national news often back in the seventies with her campaign to make witchcraft a legal religion in the United States, which, believe it or not, she succeeded in doing around the end of that decade. For the hillbillycrone, (me) this woman, who is seventy-eight years old now,  is someone really special, someone who I consider as “honorable”  She is responsible for my specific religious freedom, and this is moving for me, seriously moving. What single person do you know that is responsible for a whole religion becoming legalized? That is a big deal, if you ask me. I am fairly certain that Reverend Laurie Cabot had some help on this major political effort, but, it is her name in the history books.  I don’t know any of the names of her supporters from that era, or I would surely credit them here.

As you can guess by now, this last Samhain, (2011) I had the delightful opportunity to pack up with my family and head to Salem Massachusetts for the witches ball that was held by “The Official Witch Shoppe”  Unfortunately, Reverend Laurie Cabot was unable to attend, however, this was a delightful event.  What a feast they offered, I won’t list all of the food here, but, I will say that it was a full spread akin to nothing less than a robust American Thanksgiving feast.  This is the witches New Year, so, there was dancing and much merriment. There was a beautiful belly dancer who was very graceful and exotic to behold.  Everyone was friendly and cheerful. There was alcohol, but no one was  drunk, everyone was decent and warm.  The most beautiful thing about all of it was the formal ritual at midnight. There was a candle lit alter, which was decorated with pumpkins and gourds, representing the harvest. There were three lovely women who danced the parts of the virgin, the matron and the crone. The three profoundly empowering phases of a womans life. There were high priestesses and a high priest. I won’t elaborate on the ritual here, but, each aspect was represented in such a sincere and etherial way that I couldn’t do it justice if I tried, so I won’t.  The whole event was so hauntingly lovely, so deeply meaningful, that I cried…..I just stood in the circle with my husband, my son, and my daughter in law, when suddenly, I felt hot tears sliding down my face. I was that moved by what was happening in that room. 

Do you know what it is like to be weird all of your life and then suddenly, you are in a warm, golden circle of people who are exactly the same as yourself? People who understand you and understand what you cherish, what is dear and holy to you?  When we left the building, we walked out into a world that was like a snow globe, everything was covered in snow, five inches of snow had fallen while we were in the ball!  All of Salem was pure and white. As I slid into the rental car, I was bouncing up and down, “Our first snow storm of the year and a real witches ball in one night, what could be better, I asked my family”?

 I shall never forget the weekend (Samhain) that we spent in Salem Massachusetts.